Hydrophobic interaction refers to the tendency of nonpolar molecules to interact with each other instead of water molecules. This phenomenon is crucial in biochemistry and is often involved in the folding and stability of proteins. Several synonyms exist for hydrophobic interaction, including hydrophobic effect, hydrophobic bonding, and hydrophobic association. These terms all refer to the same underlying concept of nonpolar substances preferring to interact with each other rather than with water. Additionally, hydrophobic forces may also be described as van der Waals forces, which encompass all types of weak attractive forces between molecules.